Bhisma further continued to lecture Yudhisthira: A King should be careful not to make the slightest distinction between his confidential servants & himself in terms of facilities, treatment, or objects of enjoyment, with the exception of the use of the royal umbrella and the possession of the power to order others
A King should be so straightforward
that he deals with his men in the same way behind their backs as when they are
in his presence. A King that is always suspicious of others & who taxes his
citizens too heavily, soon meets with destruction
A Kind should not be
overly proud & thus indulge in boasting. Once having started a project, he
should diligently continue working on it until its completion. The best king is
the one in whose kingdom the citizens live without fear & without need of
hiding their wealth. The subjects of an ideal king know very well the
distinction between right and wrong, and they are very attentive in the matter
of executing their duties. They are peaceful, obedient, liberal & disinclined
toward disputes. A king must be very devoted to the study of Sastras, and he
must honour knowledge very highly
It is said that one should first select a good king. Thereafter, one can accept a good wife & begin earning wealth. Without a good king, one’s wife & fortune remain unprotected
Six persons should
be carefully avoided as much as a leaky boat at sea – a guru that does not
speak, a priest that does not know sastra, a king that cannot grant one
protection, a wife that speaks disagreeably, a cowherd man that likes to stay
in the village & a barber that likes to go to the forest
Protection of the
citizens is the highest duty of a king. He should never take away citizen’s possessions
capriciously or without sufficient cause. He should treat citizens without
haughtiness & promptly give them their just dues. He should never disregard
even the weakest of enemies for a tiny spark can become the cause of a
devastating forest fire
Canakya pandit says:
mātā yasya gṛhe nāsti
bhāryā ca priya-vādinī
araṇyaṃ tena gantavyaṃ yathāraṇyaṃ tathā gṛham
If one has no mother
at home, and if the wife talks very unpleasantly, then he should immediately
leave home & go to forest, because for him, whether at home or in the
forest, it is the same
Above guidelines are
for any leader who has responsibility of dealing with people. We all need to
imbibe these qualities as we all in some way or the other are leaders either at
home or at our workplace
Thoughts?
#gameoflife
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